Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for MINEHEAD

MINEHEAD, a small town, a parish, and a sub-district, in Williton district, Somerset. The town stands on the coast, under Minehead Point, at the terminus of a proposed railway, 8¾ miles W by N of Watchet, 11 E of the boundary with Devon, and 22 W by N of Bridgewater; was known, at Domesday, as Maheved; sent two members to parliament from the time of Elizabeth, till disfranchised by the reform act; is still nominally governed by two portreeves and other officers; carried on, for some time, a considerable export trade, particularly in woollen goods and in herrings to the Mediterranean; derived thence a coat of arms, showing a ship under sail and a wool pack; went latterly into much decay; has eventually undergone some revival, partly in trade, and partly as a pleasant watering-place; ranks as a sub-port to Bridgewater; and consists of three portions, called Quay-Town, Lower-Town, and Upper-Town. The Quay-Town is the port, and consists of one long street, running by the side of the harbour and the sea. The Lower-Town connects with the Quay-Town by an elm-shaded road along the shore; includes the parade, Bampton-street, and a row of new houses called the Parks; and contains the principal shops, respectable inns, and the market-house, a handsome building with a clock. The Upper-Town stands on the eastern declivity of a steep and rugged hill; comprises some irregular streets, with newly rebuilt houses; and contains the church, the vicarage, and a few shops. Fires, at different times, have desolated several parts of the town; and one of them destroyed ninety houses, which have not been rebuilt. The Feathers inn is a curious old house, and has an antique fireplace in the commercial room. The church is a handsome structure, 116 feet by 40; consists of nave, N aisle, and chancel, with embattled tower; shows a figure of St. Michael in a niche of the tower; and contains a curious old font, a monument supposed to be to the memory of Henry de Bracton, judge in the time of Henry III., and an alabaster statue of Queen Anne, presented in 1719 by Sir Jacob Banks, who represented the town in parliament for 16 years. The churchyard contains an ancient stone cross on steps. The town has a post office‡ under Taunton, a Baptist chapel, a large school, a free reading-room, alms houses, and charities £73. A weekly market is held on Wednesday; a fair is held on Whit-Wednesday; and some tanning and leather-working are carried on. The harbour cannot readily be entered in rough weather, and has only from 9 to 17 feet of water; yet is the best and safest within a long reach of iron-bound coast. A lighthouse was built in 1852; and there is a coast guard station. The harbour dues are heavy; and the commerce amounts to little more than the frequent trading of coasters to and from Bristol. The proposed railways an independent line from the West Somerset at Watchet; was authorized in 1865, on a capital of £70,000 in shares and £23,300 in loans; and was to be completed in four years. The attractions of the town as a watering-place are chiefly a very mild climate, and a romantic circumjacent country. The best viewpoints and airing grounds are the quay, the brow of Minehead Point, and a hill above the upper town.-The Point rises 690 feet above sea-level, and is the eastern termination of a wild range of hills extending along the coast to Porlock.—The parish includes the manor of Bratton, and the hamlets of Periton, Vineford, and Woodcombe. Acres, 4,581; of which 590 are water. Real property, £6,084. Pop., 1,582. Houses, 292. The manor belonged anciently to the Mohuns, and belongs now to H. F. Luttrell, Esq. Bratton Court, about a mile W of the town, was the residence of the judge Henry de Bracton; is now the residence of R. G. Paramore, Esq.; and is an old quadrangular timber mansion, partly modernized. A murex, which gives a crimson mark to linen, occurs on the coast; and submarine trees are found. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Bath and Wells. Value, £250. * Patron, H. F. Luttrell, Esq. Dr. Brocklesby, the friend of Johnson, was a native.—The sub-district contains also six other parishes. Acres, 25,869. Pop., 3,480. Houses, 696.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a small town, a parish, and a sub-district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Minehead AP/CP       Minehead SubD       Williton RegD/PLU       Somerset AncC
Place names: MAHEVED     |     MINEHEAD
Place: Minehead

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